The Class of 1960 at Indiana Academy has watched Adventist academies close in different parts of the country. They didn’t want the same fate for the school that had helped shape their lives.
What began with one anonymous act of generosity became a movement that inspired others to give, resulting in a transformational gift for future students. Through their commitment, these alumni are helping ensure that young people will continue to have access to Adventist education for generations to come.
Narrator: Here in Cicero, the boarding school Indiana Academy has operated for more than a century. The student population has changed over the generations and today more than one hundred students are represented from twenty-three countries. Many of them immigrants and refugees. And the school has welcomed everyone with open arms.
Their days are filled with classes. From music to math in a family-style atmosphere. Last fall, a big announcement reverberated through these halls
Erin: I was really surprised…
Narrator: More on that announcement later.
To understand the significance of the announcement, you have to understand the class of 1960. Parents sacrificed to send their children to the school.
Larry: I know one parent that moved to Cicero so that their children could attend Indiana Academy and have a Christian education.
Narrator: That’s Larry Schalk. He was the 1960 class president until a few weeks before the end of their senior year when he and three other officers were removed from their position.
Caught playing cards on the Sabbath during their senior class trip to Washington, D.S. The discipline stung. By the grace of God, they graduated and went on to successful careers in c-suites, academia and church leadership. Over the years, Larry made sure they kept in touch despite the distance between them.
Larry: We had our 50th year reunion. We had 48 living members of our class at that time—41 came to our class reunion.
Narrator: Last year, one of those class members approached Larry with a proposal.
Larry: I want to be able to have a funding system for the school to be able to recruit students and keep students in school because of the finances as it exists today.
Narrator: By the time last fall’s alumni reunion was over, the donor, who chose to remain anonymous, had pledged 1.2 million dollars. Others in the class of 1960, along with some friends, added to that amount bringing the total to 1.5 million dollars.
That astonishing lesson in generosity was not lost on the students; Many who now have a brighter future.
Erin: My hopes and goal for the future is to be a mom and to be a nurse to help others. But also to grow my kids up in faith.
Omy: I want to do something in the medical field that’ll help and assist those who are in need. . . and share about God.
Larry: We do not want a student or family to say ‘we can’t afford Christian education.’ We want to make it affordable so that anyone that wants to come to Indiana Academy can come.
Narrator: An act of service from a class act.